Rip the pieces to width. Cut off
the tongue and groove for square
edges on the end pieces.

of 1-by and its job is to project
the rollers and door slab past
the existing door casing. Having
the rail 6 inches above the head
jamb looked great, and projecting it 3 inches proud of the rail
on each side worked nicely, too.

On the wall in the backer location, make a small mark showing
the center-line of the backer on
the right side. Measure up half
the width of the backer (in this
case, 3 inches) and make a second mark. This marks the top of
the backer.

Finally, strike a level line from
the top mark.

TOOL SETUP

There’s really nothing that
says “I did this” like making all
the pieces to a project such as a
door—something people touch
and use everyday. Since it must
both look good and work, I take
a little extra care making it.

Success starts with the toolsetup. Having the right tools,bits, blades and clamps—before you start working—iskey. I mainly used:

• Miter saw and cut table

• Table saw

• Router with cove and 3/8”
dado bits

• Jawhorses and squeeze
clamps

• Impact drivers

•2x4s

• Circular saw with straight edge

• Random orbit sander

• Socket set

MAKING THE RAILBACKER

I cut my rail backer 3 inches
longer than the rail to get a 1-
1/2-inch reveal on either end. I
ripped the backer on the table
saw out of 1-by- 10 flooring stock
to a full 6-inch width.

Next, I sanded the backer on
the show face and on the edges
with 100- and 120-grit sandpaper. Beyond smoothing out
imperfections, sanding does
three things. First, sanding the
face of the pine opens the grain,
enabling the wood to accept